Eagles: May the best man win

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles head coach Chip Kelly calls it a quarterback competition, and it begins in earnest this morning.

Add a spark to the kindling and you have a quarterback controversy.

Kelly doesn’t think it’s fair to designate a starting quarterback before training camp. The Collective Bargaining Agreement forbids teams from putting players through contact work until the third day of camp.

The dynamic fostered hope for Nick Foles, Matt Barkley and Dennis Dixon, who on various levels have been promised the chance to battle the celebrated veteran Michael Vick for the No. 1 job.

But is it really so open?Even after a contract restructuring, Vick is guaranteed almost triple the salaries of his competition this season.

Even if it is an open competition, there’s a popularity factor involved.

In such a contest, Vick would be the Eagles’ starting quarterback hands down. You cannot help but wonder what will be in the hearts of Vick’s teammates. Many have enjoyed their finest moments when he’s played quarterback. If the competition with Foles is close … then what?

Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson clarified Thursday that he was only guessing, not voting when he told a TV guy he thought Vick would win the starting job. It’s understandable. Nonetheless Jackson would like to know who the starter is. Sooner, rather than later would be great. He’s not that much different than Larry Fitzgerald or any top-shelf NFL receiver.

Just to let his teammates know he wasn’t playing favorites, Jackson proclaimed “We have four great quarterbacks.” The fifth thrower, G.J. Kinne, was not immediately available for comment.

Truth be told, some of Jackson’s most explosive football came with Vick throwing him the football. Their vertical act was second to none. They’re definitely on the same page. Now they even share the same agent.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, on the other hand, has shifted into neutral after initially backing Vick.

McCoy evolved into a Pro Bowl running back partly because of the way the opposition had to defend Vick.

“Whatever Coach Kelly’s decision with the quarterbacks may be I support all the quarterbacks,” McCoy said. “We’re still a team. We want to add some clarity on who’s the quarterback. But you have to understand we’re still teammates. I feel the same about Nick as I do about Mike. Whoever the starting quarterback is I’ll be real supportive. The backups, I’ll be real supportive also.”

If you polled the players right now there would be trouble. Some think Vick deserves a shot, others Foles with Barkley more than an afterthought.

There are Eagles veterans who think Foles can win the job. They’ve seen him take charge during the offseason.

When the pads come on, it will be interesting to see if Foles operates the offense as well as he has in the minicamps.

Now all he has to do is win the confidence of teammates in the very competitive setting. Last year Foles was given the starting job when Vick sustained a concussion.

“I think what Nick has to do is be himself,” Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor said. “His teammates will respect him when they know who he is and they know that he’s genuine. And what I see on the practice field is when we’re out there and he’s running the offense, when I watch him help other guys get lined up or tell them what to do, I see them react because they trust that he knows what they’re supposed to do. And that’s all he has to do is be himself, be assertive when he needs to be assertive.

If you walk out on the field and your teammates know that you are the most prepared person that day for practice then you’ve got their respect. You can’t be who you aren’t because they’ll know.”

While Vick’s oft-scrutinized decision-making, accuracy and ball security all are liabilities in the Kelly offense, his mobility and arm-strength are ideal. He’s won 56 starts.

If Vick doesn’t begin the season with the starting job, he insists he won’t be a problem. He will accept his fate and help in whatever way he can. Unless Vick flops, would Kelly actually turn the page on such a popular player so quickly? What kind of a message would that send?

“It’s not an election year,” Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “Listen, players want the guy playing next to him to be the guy that’s going to give them the best chance to win games. I don’t think that’s an issue. Not at all. Because I think the players have a healthy respect for all the quarterbacks. And they like them all.”